Nothing Changes in Charming
by laurenh1996
Summary: After finding out that her sister-in-law Donna has been shot and killed Haley books the first flight home to charming to be there for her brother Opie, she hasn't been back to charming for nine years and leaving back then weren't entirely easy. Coming home will bring up a lot of the past, especially with Jax Teller, the boy she grew up with and grew to love.
1. Awoken by Death

**Nothing Changes in Charming**

 **1.** **Awoken by Death**

In a dark, lonely apartment, where the only light that enters is the view from across New York city, sleeps a young woman. Cuddled up in a king size bed, all alone, dreaming about newspaper articles and work-related tasks, a constant worry of her working life. She sleeps undisturbed by the sound of the traffic, rushing through the city streets, the sounds of the clubs and bars nearby. She is in a deep sleep, until the loud vibration coming from her mobile awakens her, quickly trying to grab at her phone, she makes a quick observation of the time before answering the call, it two in the morning, who could possibly want her at that time? Without looking at the caller ID, she answers with a very sleepy "hello". There is silence for a minute so she has to repeat herself, until a quiet but familiar voice answers on the other side. "Hi Honey, something bad has happened, you need to come home".

Three hours later the young woman, Haley Winston, is making her way to JFK Airport for a direct flight to Stockton in California. She in the back of a yellow cab thinking about what has just happened in the last few hours after receiving that phone call, how everything has now changed, she is no longer worrying about newspaper articles or work related tasks but the news she has just received.

 _"_ _Mom?" Haley reaches over to her bedside lamp, brightening up her bedroom which makes her rub at her eyes once more. The voice on the other side of the phone was, indeed Haley's mother, Mary Winston, it was very rare to have a phone call from her mother as it had been months since they spoke last. Her voice was calm, as it always was but Haley could sense the despair in her voice, "Yes honey, it's me" there was just silence for a moment, allowing Haley to take in what she had just said, she has to go home? Something bad had happened? "Mom what's happened? Is dad okay?" Haley sits up in bed to await the bad news, pulling the bed sheets closer to her. "Donna's been shot, she's dead honey" Mary was silent, she was clearly trying to contain her emotions at this point, "your brother needs you, Haley". Trying to take in this news was hard for Haley, her brother's wife has just died, a close friend to Haley who meant a great deal to her. There was further silence for a bit, Haley still trying to get over the shock of the news she was hearing. Before Mary could carry on talking to Haley she just simply answered "I'll be there soon" and ended the call with her mother._

Haley was around thirty minutes away from the airport, her flight was taking off at 5.45am, she had plenty of time to gather her thoughts before she would go back to the place where she hadn't been in over nine years. She hadn't really thought about this until she got into the cab, everything happened so quick after having the phone call from her mother, she got changed, booked the flight, packed a suitcase and left. She managed to phone her boss while waiting for the taxi to arrive, explaining to him that she would be away for a while, which of course he was happy to allow and told her to take as much time as she needed. Going home wasn't going to be easy for her, it would bring back memories, painful ones at that. It was going to make her see people she had wanted to forget, people who had hurt her so bad, people who she once loved.

As she was getting ready to board the plane, she grabs her phone out of her bag and makes a quick phone call before turning it off, it was to one of the two men who never hurt her, her father. He answered the call straight away which was never the case for her father, he was useless with his phone but obviously this was under different circumstances. "Hi Daddy, I'm getting on the plane now, just wondering if you're still picking me up when I land?" she loved her dad so much and was actually pretty happy to see him, but the only person she needed to see was her brother, Opie. "Yeah I'll be there. How are you?" he knew that Haley would be holding it together like she had always done, Haley loved Donna just as much as anyone, she was the one who got her through the bad times of her teenage life, she was practically the sister she never had. "I'm fine daddy, just need to see Opie. Look I better go, I'll see you soon" she ended the call before her father could reply, she found it hard to talk, she was finding it hard to be strong and she needed to be strong for her family.

She turned off her mobile, placing it back into her bag and retrieved her ticket. She was hoping for some sleep during her flight but she knew that wouldn't happen, she knew she was going to overthink about what was actually happening. The flight attendant called her row to make their way onto the plane. She slowly made her way towards the flight attendant, was this actually happening she questioned herself? Or was this just one bad dream and she was going to wake up back in bed? Haley took once last look behind her before entering the plane, she was saying goodbye to the normal life she had in New York as she knew it was all about to change.


	2. Back Home

**Nothing Changes in Charming**

 **2\. Back Home**

In the busy baggage claim of Stockton Metropolitan Airport, Haley is standing amongst the other passengers of her flight to Stockton, patiently waiting for her suitcase to appear on the baggage carousel. When rushing out of her apartment she packed a suitcase of all her necessities. She didn't know exactly how long she would be back in Charming for, she was hoping that she would be getting back to her normal life in just a few weeks but it was very unlikely. Glancing over to the carousel she noticed that her bag had appeared, a very simple, plain red suitcase with a red velvet bow on the handle. She retrieves her case and slowly makes her way to the arrival bay of the airport, thinking to herself that there is no going back now.

Grabbing at her phone in her very overcrowded bag, Haley tires to call her dad but notices the reaper in the crowd before she manages to do so, there he was, her ever aging father. "Daddy?" she calls out to him with a small smile on her face, the last time she saw him was just before Opie went to prison, the family came to New York for Christmas, that was also the last time she got to see Donna. Piney Winston was an old, scruffy looking man, his hair was slowly turning grey with age and he also carried a scraggly looking beard on his face. From suffering with emphysema, he now carried an oxygen tank with him, which made him look frail. He was also wearing his constant fashion accessory, which Haley has always referred to it as, a denim Son's cut, his motorcycle club. Piney turned to the call from his daughter and couldn't believe his eyes, she wasn't this young girl anymore but a beautiful woman, she had dyed her hair from the last time he saw her, it was now this dark red color, which he thought brought out the wild side she inherited from him. He walked over to his daughter in disbelief that she was actually home, giving her a small kiss on the cheek he grabbed her case and they both made their way over to his truck, talking about general things like how her flight went and the weather, not discussing the important things like how Opie was and was Donna's death to do with club business.

Sitting in the car in complete silence was the most uncomfortable Haley had felt in a while, after the general conversation was over there was nothing left to talk about. Haley knew she had to ask about her brother and how Donna died but she couldn't bear to talk about it with her dad. When she was growing up she was made to believe that the Son's of Anarchy was just a motorcycle club but she knew herself that it was more than that. It wasn't until she applied for college that Piney knew that she was aware of the business that went on within the club and told her that she was never to speak of it, she was his daughter, the youngest and he wanted her to have nothing to do with the Sons. A feeling him and both his ex wife Mary agreed on. She felt as if she was a teenager again and she was not allowed to speak about it, but she's not, she is a grown woman who has known for years exactly what went on with the club and what is still going on, her history with that club makes it perfectly acceptable to discuss their business and that was that. She sat and bucked up the courage to bring up the conversation of Donna and Opie.

"So what happened?" she looked over to Piney, who had full concentration on the road ahead of him, he didn't even blink at the question. There was further silence until she spoke up again, "Dad, what happened with Donna? Was it to do with the club?", a loud sign entered the truck, Piney knew that questions were going to be asked and he really didn't want to answer them, he wasn't 100% what happened, only a few hours ago the devastating event took place and he hasn't been able to grasp at the idea just yet. "She was driving to put the kids to bed, she stopped at a red light and was shot from behind" there was no emotion in his dry, husky voice, nothing to show how he was really feeling about it all. "That's all I know. I don't know if its to do with the club, I have been trying to find your brother for the last couple of hours, so I haven't had the time to talk about it." He was very abrupt, trying to end the conversation there.

Haley sat in thought for a few minutes, taking in everything she had just heard. Donna was on her way home to collect her children and tuck them into bed, she now wouldn't have the chance to kiss them goodnight and tell them she loved them because some selfish person decides to end her life. In mind thought she realized what information Piney had actually slipped into that statement, Opie was missing. "What do you mean find my brother? Where on earth has he gone?" she stared at her father with hurt and anger, why weren't they watching him? She watched as her father just shook his head, he had no answer to give, he himself knew that a closer eye should have been put on Opie, but he just left without telling anyone where he was. "He has two children at home, who are wondering where their mother is and he decides to disappear? Has anyone told them? Has he even been home to see them" at this point she was extremely worried and upset, she couldn't quite believe what was going on. Piney had no answers for his daughter, he knew she was mad at him for not keeping a closer eye on her brother but shouting at him was not going to change things, he finally turned to his daughter with the most emotion that she has seen off him today, his eyes filled with tears, he finally replied " The kids don't know, at the moment they're at home with your mother just asking questions, what on earth do you think we're going to say Haley! It's his job and I know his heads all over the place right now but he needs to be there for his children to." He turned back to the road. There was further silence.

When entering Charming, Haley watched as the familiar streets she once knew had changed since she had been home last, there were a few stores that were the same but most of them had changed, which saddened her slightly. She loved Charming and really wanted to stay home and start a family there, but things happen, people hurt and it was time for her to move on. She watched out the window as the continued to drive back to Opie's house, all she could think about was Donna and Opie as kids, they were together from such a young age and that's why Haley was so close to Donna, she was the sister she never had. When they pulled outside Opie's home reality hit Haley, she knew where Opie would be. Once getting out of the truck she quickly asked for the keys and without explanation she jumped back in and pulled off, leaving Piney standing outside extremely confused.

As Haley pulled off down the road, Jax Teller walked outside of his best friend's house and stood next to Piney, "She came home." Piney smiled at the young boy and walked into the house, leaving Jax outside thinking about old memories.


End file.
